Forest Products Industry

In July, the area notified for final felling in Sweden was the highest in nine years, according to the Swedish Forest Agency. One reason for the increase could be higher activity in forest operations due to infestation of bark beetle which leads forest owners to notify for final felling to clear damaged forests despite it being the main summer holiday month. Sources: Timberbiz, Lesprom The total area of notified final felling in the whole country amounted to 21 644 hectares in July, which is the highest for July since 2010 and the next highest since 2006. The area of notified final felling increased in the whole country except in the region South of Sweden which showed a marginal decrease (1%). In the region North of Sweden the area notified for final felling increased by 9% to 5710 hectares. In the region South of Northern Sweden, the notified area increased by 7% to 5967 hectares and in the region Central Sweden it increased by 6% to 5206 hectares. That is the largest area notified for final felling in the region of Northern Sweden in eight years and in nine years for the regions South of Northern Sweden and Central Sweden. The total area of notified final felling in the whole country amounted to 23,191 hectares in June, which is a 19% decrease compared with June last year and the lowest level in eight years. The largest decreases were in the regions South of Sweden (32%) and South of Northern Sweden (30%). In the region Northern Sweden, the area of notified final felling decreased by 18% and in the region Central Sweden by 11%. The reasons for the decrease could be both an adjustment to large areas notified for final felling earlier this year and to large volumes of timber stocked in the forest, at road side and at forest industries.

Growing worldwide timber demand, combating deforestation and the need to move to a bio-based, de-carbonised global economy will be topics at he International Tropical Timber Technical Association (ATIBT) International Forum to be held in Shanghai in October. Source: Timberbiz The event is titled Together Towards Global Green Supply Chains and takes place from October 22 to 23. It is being held in association with the China Timber and Wood Products Distribution Association (CTWPDA) and the International Tropical Timber Organisation (ITTO) as an outcome of its Legal and Sustainable Supply Chains (LSSC) initiative. There will be field visits on 24 and 26 October and delegates also have the opportunity to attend the CTWPDA’s Global Hardwood and Wood Flooring Conference, which takes place in Huzhou, Zhejiang Province on October 25. The organisers cite the latest Special Report from the UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, which stated that global climate goals cannot be reached without rapid transition to a bio-based, de-carbonised economy founded on legal and sustainable production and consumption. At the same time, they say, the gap between global demand and supply of timber is expected to widen to 2050, as wood fibre consumption increases, driven by growing population, notably in tropical countries, and deforestation and forest degradation impacts wood availability. In response to these market and environmental challenges, many forest-based companies have implemented responsible production and sourcing strategies. However, many producers, notably in tropical countries, face difficulties in responding due to ‘lack of incentives and enabling frameworks’ and limited technical and financial capacity to meet and document compliance with legality and sustainability [requirements]’. This, say the Forum organisers, calls for market collaboration and communication. Key goals of the event are to raise the profile of productive forests and their contribution to climate change mitigation and sustainable development. To review the private sector’s role in climate change and development initiatives and to identify legality and sustainability issues in wood supply chains and capacity requirements for sustainable forest management and deforestation-free practice. It will also address challenges and opportunities in global wood supply chain demand and supply, and encourage development of sustainable timber and wood products supply chains To promote partnership in global green wood supply chains. The aim of the event will also be to establish an LSSC-GGSC Platform to facilitate business information exchange and collaboration between timber producers, buyers, processors and wood market representatives. Proceedings will be in English, French, Spanish and Mandarin, with simultaneous translation.

Battery Ventures, a global technology-focused investment firm, announced that it has acquired two companies: Forest2Market, a firm supplying data, analytics, supply chain expertise and strategic consulting services to the global forest products industry; and Fisher International, a firm supporting the pulp and paper industry with business intelligence and strategy consulting services. Source: Timberbiz Forest2Market and Fisher International will continue to operate individually as the transition is planned and implemented. “We believe both Forest2Market and Fisher International are leaders in their industry, with sophisticated business intelligence platforms that offer data-intense, technology-based solutions for the global forest products industry. Combined, the companies will offer greater insight to customers and provide better customer solutions and service, while setting the stage for dynamic, profitable growth for both companies going forward,” Jordan Welu, principal at Battery Ventures said. Mr Welu and Battery’s Dave Tabors will join Peter Stewart, founder and CEO of Forest2Market, on the board of directors. Mr Stewart will also become CEO of the combined organizations. Rod Fisher, the founder and president of Fisher International, will step away from the day-to-day management of the company and serve as a senior advisor to both the new CEO and Fisher International customers. The Forest2Market team and the balance of the Fisher International team will remain in place. “I look forward to working with the Fisher International and Forest2Market teams. We believe this will create powerful new products and services and provide unprecedented global data-driven insight to our customers,” Mr Stewart said. These acquisitions put both companies on a path to attain their long-term corporate goals. “Forest2Market’s goal for the last five years has been to expand both internationally and across the value chain, from wood raw materials to end-products markets, and the combination of Forest2Market and Fisher International will accelerate that growth,” Mr Stewart said. “We will continue to work with Battery to grow the companies, build out the value chain and offer the data and analytics that our forest products industry customers around the globe rely on to make complex business decisions.” Battery Ventures said that it recognized the opportunity to join these two complementary companies as a way to increase the efficiency with which both companies deliver data, end-to-end insight, guidance and platform solutions.

An ambitious “Coast to Crest” series of green corridors to run the length of the Kāpiti Expressway, as well as linking beach ecosystems to the Tararua ranges using the Waikanae and Ōtaki Rivers and smaller waterways in New Zealand, is at the heart of the environment and open spaces vision unveiled by Kāpiti Coast mayoral candidate Gwynn Compton to keep the district’s green spaces. Source: Timberbiz The government’s One Billion Trees program is actively looking for opportunities to support native plantings, and Gwynn Compton’s plan calls for Kāpiti Coast District Council to work with Te Uru Rākau (Forestry New Zealand), the New Zealand Transport Agency, other government agencies, Greater Wellington Regional Council, iwi, community groups, and private landowners, to create a series of interconnecting green corridors crisscrossing the district. The plan is partially based on the successful Green Corridors Range to River program in the Manawatū, which is working to better connect the Manawatū River to the Tararua ranges via its tributary streams through extensive plantings of native trees and bush. “Kāpiti already has an enviable reputation for its native environment and the Coast to Crest program would further build on this by serving as a bridge for reintroducing native biodiversity back into Kāpiti’s communities,” Mr Compton said. “Kāpiti Coast District Council is ideally placed to act as the lead agency for the Coast to Crest programme. It can help coordinate across a range of government agencies, regional council, iwi, community groups, and private landowners to bring together central government funding and local community know how to help put native flora and fauna back into the heart of Kāpiti. “With Kāpiti Island to the west and the Tararuas to the east, the Kāpiti Coast has some of the best and most accessible areas of remaining native forest in the country.”

District Council of Grant Mayor, Richard Sage and acting council CEO Jane Fetherstonhaugh toured the Tarpeena, South Australia mill to view progress together with Timberlink CEO Ian Tyson on 7 August. They witnessed the significant technological upgrades that are turning the Tarpeena site into a world class facility, securing more than 200 full-time jobs at the mill for a generation to come.  Source: Timberbiz “Value added timber manufacturing is key to the economy and the communities in this region. It is fantastic to see Timberlink making such a significant investment, creating jobs for today and securing them for the future,” said Mayor Sage. According to Timberlink domestic output does not meet Australian demand for softwood products such as timber framing and this upgrade will result in Timberlink being one of the few Australian producers increasing production in the coming years. Vitally, the upgrade program will ensure the mill remains internationally competitive. The investment is one of the largest ever by an Australian softwood sawmill and will take three years to complete. Currently a new CFK (contra flow kiln) and new electrical substation for Tarpeena are being constructed, bringing the latest technology into the region while creating jobs in areas such as construction, logistics and engineering. The addition of the new CFK for drying timber will give the Timberlink Tarpeena mill the largest continuous drying capacity in the southern hemisphere. The new CFK will replace seven existing batch kilns, with a higher capacity and a 30% improvement in energy usage per cubic metre and an improved carbon footprint. The kilns are heated by renewable biomass pine plantation residues. Timberlink is the only major Australian Softwood sawmiller with both key environmental certifications, FSC and Responsible Wood. Mayor Sage and Ms Fetherstonhaugh were particularly impressed by the work Timberlink is doing to upgrade safety systems at the mill. “Nothing is more important than safety at a facility like this and I was particularly pleased to see the attention that Ian Tyson and his team were putting into this area” said Ms Fetherstonhaugh. The safety improvements include the creation of a new dispatch yard, woodchip collection point and the roll out of the Home Safe program. Recently the mill has been able to take on new apprentices and contractors during the upgrade works. The mill underpins 680 direct and indirect jobs and contributes more than $180m to the local economy each year. “Timberlink is committed to the Limestone Coast region long-term,” said CEO Ian Tyson. “Pine trees take almost 30 years to grow and $90m is a significant outlay, signalling the businesses confidence in the region to support the investment.”

Maryborough in Queensland will show its support for the native forestry industry this Sunday with its Hardwood is Good event to be held at the Granville Soccer Club in Banana Street. The event will be attended by a number of state politicians and senior industry officials. The industry is in danger of collapse. Source: Timberbiz The event is being held to show support and concern for the 2000 jobs that rely on South East Queensland’s native hardwood timber industry. State members for Gympie, the Hon Tony Perrett and member for Maryborough the Hon Bruce Saunders will attend the event that starts at 11.30am. Industry heavyweights – Mick Stephens CEO of Timber Queensland, Michael Guerin CEO of AgForce, Sean Ryan CEO of PFSQ will also attend. The community is expected to attend in its hundreds as the industry is a major employer in the area both directly and indirectly and without a guarantee of long-term timber supply there is a significant risk of industry collapse, mill closures and job losses across the region. Under the South-East Queensland Forest Agreement (SEQFA) the supply of state-owned native sawlogs is to cease from 2024, which assumes an adequate resource from plantations and private native forests will replace it. However, with insufficient development of the private native forest resource and the inadequacy of the plantation resource as a substitute, there is no long-term resource security for the industry beyond 2024.

David Chandler OAM, the newly appointed NSW Building Commissioner who starts his new role today, will be one of the leading speakers at the prefabAUS 2019 conference which is on at the International Convention Centre in Sydney from 10-11 September. Source: Timberbiz Mr Chandler is well known to the prefabAUS community, and has delivered a number of popular presentations at previous conferences, including his 2017 presentation: ‘Off-site construction assurance: the looming game changer’. At the 2019 prefabAUS Conference, Mr Chandler will continue this conversation and demonstrate just how much the game has changed – and what’s to come. His presentation will explore modernising industry, with a focus on smarter construction methodology and the quantity surveyor value proposition. He will share his take on the current industry problems and his vision for achieving the changes necessary to restore confidence in NSW construction Mr Chandler has extensive experience across construction in Australia and the Asia Pacific region. He was the construction director for Australia’s New Parliament House and has led enterprises involved in major projects, public capital works procurement, business transition and transaction due-diligence. He has also been chair and director on a range of private and public boards, joint-ventures and enquiries into the performance of the construction industry. For three years prior to his appointment as NSW Building Commissioner, he was the founding Industry Engagement Lead for the Centre for Smart Modern Construction – c4SMC at Western Sydney University. The centre involves industry and academic collaboration to invest in modern construction research, academic and industry capability building to help prepare the next generation of constructors to be future ready. Mr Chandler has strong interests in the urban renewal, housing and education sectors. He was the Deputy Chair of the BER Implementation review and his insights and commentary on modern construction have been widely published across media platforms. For more information about the conference or to register www.prefabaus.org.au

A forest industry leader is calling for serious public debate on the advantages of using gene editing to combat wilding pines and in the broader context of fighting climate change through carbon sequestration. Source: Timberbiz New Zealand Forest Owners Association president Peter Weir says the Royal Society’s just released report on gene editing should be taken seriously by anyone concerned about the state of the environment. “The Royal Society has highlighted the problem of wilding conifers, where, despite the millions of dollars spend on a control program, these tree weeds continue to spread from old farm shelter belts, old catchment board soil conservation plantings and from old state forests, onto land where they are not wanted, including our native forests,” Mr Weir said. “If the fertility was switched off in these trees through a gene edit, then not only would the spread of wildings from new plantations be curtailed, but as the Royal Society quite rightly points out, the tree would divert more energy into growing wood.  That adds to the carbon dioxide absorbed from the atmosphere and helps combat climate change.” He says the current regulatory regime around gene editing in the Hazardous Substances and New Organisms Act is one of the most restrictive in the world. “Not only that, the view of the Environmental Protection Authority, which administers the Act, is that there should be a zero-risk oversight, and that is contrary to the expressed view of the High Court in 2011,” Mr Weir said. “There is some research already on sterile wildings.  But we are caught with an EPA requirement that the experimental trees are destroyed as soon as the cones appear, so we can’t confirm we are producing sterile trees.  But without that proof we are not going to be allowed to release them.  That is crazy.” “If the EPA persist in its attitude that the risks of not conducting a particular piece of research and using the result are irrelevant, then the government has an obligation to direct the EPA as an Agent of the Crown to balance risks of gene editing against the risk of not researching that gene editing.”  

A timber export port for Kangaroo Island has been listed as a “high priority” for the State by Peak industry body SA Freight Council. Smith Bay already has a secure cargo – $60m annually in timber. Source:  Timberbiz In its Moving Freight 2019 report, submitted to Infrastructure SA, the SA Freight Council said that, while there are a number of port proposals around the State, “all proposals except Smith Bay are subject to demand and rely upon specific ventures proceeding”. “A key policy consideration for Government and industry is the need to ensure that a balance is struck between protecting an investor’s rights to access his own infrastructure investment, and the desire to ensure access by third parties to common user facilities and equipment…” the report says. Kangaroo Island Plantation Timber (KIPT) has, from the outset, proposed and designed a multi-user facility. The report also recognises the need for government investment in the road network to support the KI Seaport proposal at Smith Bay. The South Australian Freight Council (SAFC) is the State’s peak industry group that advises both the Federal and State governments on industry related issues, and is funded by both industry and government. It represents road, rail, sea and air freight modes and operations, and assists the industry on issues relating to freight logistics. SAFC CEO Evan Knapp spoke at the SA Major Projects Conference in Adelaide last week, where Kangaroo Island Plantation Timbers’ executive director John Sergeant joined him on a panel discussing “Building A Stronger SA: Plans, Priorities and Opportunities”. “KIPT’s port was distinctly different from other projects on show in that it is a private development, not taxpayer funded,” Mr Sergeant said. “It was also good to showcase a project in the regions, as many of the others were Adelaide-based.”

Western Australia has joined Tasmania to become the second state government to adopt a state-wide Wood Encouragement Policy (WEP). A WEP requires responsibly sourced wood be considered, where feasible, as the primary construction material in all new-build and refurbishment projects. Source: Timberbiz It does not in any way mandate the use of timber, but rather seeks to ensure that wood is at least considered as the primary structural component in buildings. In addition, there are two local government authorities and 16 local councils – five in Western Australia – which have adopted WEPs in Australia. Speaking about the announcement, Simon Dorries Responsible Wood CEO, spoke of the power of wood encouragement policies in promoting sustainably sourced timber on construction projects. “WEPs provide an important incentive for the use of wood in building projects, and when it comes to responsibly sourced wood forest certification plays an all-important role in demonstrating that timber is sourced from forests that meet acceptable environmental standards for practice. “We commend the Western Australian government in showing leadership in this field, and note the adoption of similar policies around the world including Canada, Japan, France, Finland, The Netherlands and the UK. “Responsible Wood, PEFC in Australia, is Australia’s largest forest certification scheme, with more than 90% of Australia’s commercial forests currently involved in the scheme however, just 12% of global forests are certified under PEFC and / or FSC forest certification.” Embodied within the Responsible Wood certification scheme, forest growers, processors, merchants and retailors are assessed by independent certification bodies and must meet the Australian Standard for Sustainable Forest Management (AS 4708 – 2013) and Chain of Custody for Forest Products (AS 4707 – 2014) to achieve and maintain Responsible Wood certification. In total, there are four Responsible Wood certified forests in Western Australia including the Bunbury Treefarm Project, Forest Products Commission (WA), WA Plantation Resources Pty Ltd (WAPRS) and WA Sandalwood Plantations Pty Ltd.

Dynamic growth for desalination and water reuse in 2019 In The News

Non-conventional advanced water treatment solutions are considered essential to coping with increased water scarcity. The IDA Water Security Handbook, released in January 2019, provides the latest market overview for the global desalination and water reuse markets.

In 2019, the seawater desalination market is set to experience its most dynamic year since the late 2000s, according to the new IDA Water Security Handbook, published by the International Desalination Association (IDA) and Global Water Intelligence (GWI) in January 2019.

In the past 3 years, the overall desalination market has remained steady; however, several factors are driving the surge in desalination projects. These include rising demand for clean water, decreasing capital and operational costs of desalination, and the need to replace older facilities with energy-efficient processes, among others. At the same time, water reuse has become an increasingly important part of water resources management around the world. The global contracted reuse capacity has almost doubled since 2010, with cumulative contracted capacity increasing from 59.7 million m3/d in 2009to 118 million m3/d in 2017.

According to the 31st desalination inventory, which covers July 2017–June 2018, the total global installed desalination capacity stands at 97.4 million cubic meters per day (m3/d) while the total global cumulative contracted capacity is 104.7 million m3/d. As of June 30, 2018, more than 20,000 desalination plants had been contracted around the world.

IDA Secretary General Shannon McCarthy relates this industry growth to global trends. “As climate change continues to impact our world, along with industrial and population growth, the demand for clean water increases. Desalination and water reuse: non-conventional, environmentally sound water supply solutions are in keeping with the circular water economy and offer solutions to water scarcity. The trends we are seeing point to a broad recognition that these advanced water treatment solutions are essential to the health and well-being of people and economies around the world, both now and in the future.”

Desalination costs down

“The big breakthrough in the past year has been on the cost of desalination,” says GWI Publisher Christopher Gasson. “Recent project tenders in Saudi Arabia and Abu Dhabi have seen the price fall below $0.50/m3 for the first time. After a decade in which price drifted upwards as a result of high materials costs and higher energy costs, this is very good news. Indeed, we expect 2019 to be the best year ever in the desalination market. In terms of water reuse, prices for indirect potable standard water are in the $0.30-$0.40 range, but the market is still held back by public perceptions.”

Significant price reductions in desalinated water pro-diction costs are related to several factors not only specifically linked to technological progress, says Carlos Cosín, IDA officer and CEO of Almar Water Solutions. “From my perspective, the contractors’ experience after years of building large-scale projects in the region has led to a cost-efficient optimization of the construction process. New contractual and financial models have contributed to the creation of strong, solid consortiums, which have the knowledge to accommodate risk in a more efficient manner. Together with lower interest rates in the financial sector, these are all important factors that are helping to push tariffs down.”

Material and design changes have also contributed to price reductions, Cosín explains. Lower petroleum prices have reduced the cost of desalination plant components, many of which are manufactured from oil-derived materials, such as membranes and plastic pipes. Additionally, energy savings has been realized through advances in membranes that require less inlet pressure, energy-efficient recovery devices, and larger reverse osmosis trains with larger pumps and motors capable of higher efficiencies.

Construction activity gains momentum

The expected surge in desalination is largely a result of gathering momentum in construction plans in the Middle East, especially for the six Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) nations: Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates. According to the 2018-2019 IDA Water Security Handbook, 1.9 million m3/d of seawater capacity was contracted in the first half of 2018, up 26 percent over the same period in 2017. Since that time, preferred bidders have emerged on projects totalling well over 1 million m3/d in additional new capacity in the region.

No single factor is catalysing the boom of desalination projects in GCC countries, says IDA President Miguel Angel Sanz, who is also the director of strategic development for treatment infrastructure at Suez International. Instead, he explains that several elements are driving the momentum in a region with limited natural water resources that are decreasing each year. These include high population growth, the need to update old desalination facilities, and the crude oil crisis.

Sanz also notes that the boom of renewable energies producing electricity at a cost as low as US$20 per megawatt hour (MWh) has finally put into the market a trend to reduce drastically the production cost of desalinated water, where the energy is half of the tariff. In the case of the UAE, another special catalyzer is the next commissioning of nuclear power reactors that will force the end of coupling conventional power plants to thermal desalination.

“All these factors have shifted the balance toward building new mega plants in the area, producing water more efficiently and drastically reducing the cost by economy of scale, ‘aligning the planets’ in a very short period and causing this desalination boom,” Sanz adds.

Global construction trends

Not all of the contracted large seawater plants are located in the Middle East. The largest seawater desalination award listed in the 31st desalination inventory is the 378,000-m3/d seawater reverse osmosis (SWRO) project in Rosarito, Mexico. This was followed by projects at Hamriyah (Sharjah, UAE, 272,760 m3/d), Shoaiba 3 expansion 2 IWP (Saudi Arabia, 250,000 m3/d) and Al Khobar (Saudi Arabia, 210,000 m3/d).

Globally, contracted capacity for brackish water desalination declined by 19 percent over the prior year, but in the United States (US), contracted brackish water desalination rose significantly, totalling 205,600 m3/d, the highest level since 2012 and a 26-percent increase over 2016, with a fairly even split between municipal and industrial plants.

Desalination of lower concentration feedwater, such as waste-water and low-concentration surface water, also increased, comprising almost 25 percent of total capacity in 2017 compared to approximately 15 percent in 2016. The majority of this capacity is made up of large wastewater treatment plants in China and India.

From a geographic perspective, contracted capacity in the Middle East – the largest market for desalination – fell from 2016 to 2017, but this decline was offset in 2018 by the awarding of several large projects in Saudi Arabia and Bahrain as well as expansion projects in both Dubai and Sharjah. Dubai Electricity and Water Authority (DEWA) awarded contracts for a 181,840-m3/d SWRO expansion at its Jebel Ali power and desalination complex as well as a 272,360-m3/d SWRO expansion of Federal Electricity and Water Authority’s (FEWA) Hamriyah desalination plant in Sharjah.

The Asia-Pacific desalination market grew in 2017, primarily due to the Chinese desalination market where contracted capacity reached its highest level since 2010. In the Americas, 2018 was the most active year for desalination since 2013. In sub-Saharan Africa, Kenya’s Mombasa County awarded two projects of 100,000 m3/d and 30,000 m3/d while three smaller projects were awarded in Cape Town to help avert its looming “Day Zero” water crisis.

In terms of technologies, mem-brane technologies continue to dominate the desalination market. Ninety percent of desalination capacity contracted since 2010 employs membrane technologies, with the use of thermal technologies for large-scale projects remaining concentrated in the Middle East.

Industrial desalination grows 21 percent

The industrial desalination market grew by 21 percent in contracted capacity between 2016-2017, according to the IDA Water Security Handbook. Increased activity in upstream and downstream oil and gas accounted for more than one third of contracted industrial capacity in 2017 while rising commodity prices have revived desalination activity in the mining industry, with 201,000 m3/d of new capacity contracted in the first half of 2018 alone. Rapid growth in the microelectronics industry is also creating opportunities for desalination technologies, with contracted capacity in this sector more than doubling from 2016-2017.

IDA Director and Managing Director of Aquatech Devesh Sharma sums up the principal reasons for the recent 21-percent rise in the industrial desalination market: “The intersection of water scarcity and corporate water risk is driving growth in the use of desalination and other forms of advanced water technology in industry. Concerns about operational risks, corporate social responsibility,

sustainability, and water’s direct impact on P&L [profit and loss] have made this a boardroom issue for a majority of large companies.”

The most significant driver of expenditure on advanced water technology is water scarcity, he explains. “Most industrial development occurs either in highly water scarce regions or densely populated regions where there is an emerging and extreme competition for fresh water resources. Water scarcity has driven more stringent environ-mental regulation demanding lower volumes of discharge as well as higher purity of wastewater, thus driving the need for water reuse, particularly in industry.

“All of this, coupled with industry’s demand for higher purity, is creating an interesting and emerging market need for better advanced water technology. Water is a widely used raw material in industry, and the way in which it is treated can have a significant impact on process efficiency. In certain cases, it takes more water to mine the same element than it did in the past, and end-users are also finding opportunities where higher purity of water in the process results in better production yields. This is also being seen in the oil and gas industry with the advent of smart water processes that adjust the water quality to the geology in the well to minimize issues such as biological fouling or precipitation, all with the objective to maximize yield.

“Removing dissolved salts from water and other technologies, which turns low-quality wastewater and raw water sources into high-quality process water, will be an important driver of industrial efficiency moving forward.”

Global water reuse market strengthens

The importance of water reuse as a solution to the world’s growing water issues has escalated significantly in the past few years. Increasingly, many regions are looking to wastewater reuse over large-scale desalination as a solution to drought-induced water scarcity. For example, both Cape Town and California are pursuing potable water reuse of wastewater, and reuse of wastewater in industry plays a vital part of policy responses to degradation of water resources in China and India.

As contracted capacity continues to rise, the epicentre of the global wastewater reuse market has shifted from North America to Asia, with China accounting for 49 percent of capacity contracted between 2010 and 2017. However, new capacity in India and Taiwan is also significant. India is now the fastest growing market in the region, with new environmental legislation as one of the drivers.

The Americas is the second largest region according to installed capacity, with the majority of water reuse focused on the agricultural and industrial sectors in the US, which remains the world’s second largest market by contracted capacity at 10 percent of the total. However, the awarding of three projects in Latin America accounts for the majority of the region’s increase in contracted capacity.

Water reuse is gaining traction in the Middle East as well although desalination remains the primary unconventional water source for arid countries in the region. Large-scale upgrades of sewage treatment plants in the Gulf and Egypt have driven strong growth in reuse.

Spain has led the European wastewater reuse market since 2010, with large projects aimed at agricultural users in that country. However, a proposed EU directive that would require treatment of microbiological pathogens to facilitate water reuse for agricultural irrigation has the potential to increase water reuse in the EU from 3 million m3/d to 18 million m3/d.

Industrial water demand is a key driver of the wastewater reuse market. This trend is especially apparent in water-intensive manufacturing and extraction industries as well as in regions where population growth has created a conflict between industrial and municipal water users, driving the industry to seek alternative water sources, as municipal users are typically prioritized, especially in times of drought.

The 2019 IDA World Congress will be held on October 20-24 in Dubai, UAE. For more information, visit www.wc.idadesal.org

The post Use desalinated water to grow forest in arid regions offsetting carbon emissions appeared first on International Forest Industries.

An intergovernmental report on climate change released late last week highlights the need for a whole-of-landscape approach to tackling climate change, and the vital role the agriculture and forestry sector can play in reducing emissions and storing carbon, according to Climate Proofing Australia (CPA). Source: Timberbiz

The CPA is pleased to see that the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change’s recommendations are consistent with its call on the Australian Government to better target the Climate Solutions Fund (formerly the Emissions Reduction Fund) to incentivise carbon projects from the agriculture and forestry sectors that deliver the co-benefits of biodiversity, productivity, water quality and landholders and employment.

“The Fund’s current conditions limit the land sector’s capacity to generate co-benefits associated with carbon sequestration, such as reinstating wildlife habitat, supporting sustainable agriculture, increasing the plantation forestry estate, and cleaner waters in our rivers,” Australian Forest Products Association CEO Ross Hampton said.

“This next phase of the Fund is an opportunity to address these barriers and make it more accessible to primary industries and landowners.”

Mr Hampton said the IPCC Special Report backs Australia’s forest industries to help fight climate change.

“This latest IPCC report is further evidence that Australia’s forest management practices of sustainable harvest and regeneration are as good as anywhere in the world when it comes to emissions reduction and carbon mitigation benefits. It is better for the environment to have well managed multiple-use forests that continue to produce renewable forest products that store carbon and bioproducts that substitute for fossil fuels-based alternatives, than to lock forests up,” Mr Hampton said.

Greening Australia CEO Mr Brendan Foran said that with land-based activities also accounting for around 20 per cent of the country’s greenhouse gas emissions, carbon farming presents a really important opportunity not just to reduce these emissions, but to improve the landscape at the same time.

“A strengthened CFI and the introduction of ‘premium credits’ will mean that large-scale tree plantings can also achieve important co-benefits, such as reinstating wildlife habitat, supporting sustainable agriculture and cleaner waters in our rivers.”

CPA reiterated its call on the Federal Government to commit a proportion of the Climate Solutions Fund to projects that deliver multiple benefits, and to remove barriers to the Fund that currently limit opportunities for the agriculture and forestry sectors.

The latest IPCC report states:
Sustainable forest management aimed at providing timber, fibre, biomass, non-timber resources and other ecosystem functions and services, can lower GHG emissions and can contribute to adaptation. B5.3.

Sustainable forest management can maintain or enhance forest carbon stocks, and can maintain forest carbon sinks, including by transferring carbon to wood products, thus addressing the issue of sink saturation…Where wood carbon is transferred to harvested wood products, these can store carbon over the long-term and can substitute for emissions-intensive materials reducing emissions in other sectors. B5.4.

Most mitigation pathways include substantial deployment of bioenergy technologies. B7.4.
The use of residues and organic waste as bioenergy feedstock can mitigate land use change pressures associated with bioenergy deployment. B3.3.
Photo: Australian Forest Products Association CEO Ross Hampton

The post Australia – Climate change – IPCC report relies on forestry for change appeared first on International Forest Industries.

More than seven million pine seedlings are being dispatched from Forestry Corporation of NSW’s Blowering Nursery near Tumut this winter, which is one of the largest crops since the nursery began producing containerised seedlings a little over a decade ago.

Phil Green, Plantation Improvement Manager, said the 7.4 million pine seedlings will be sent out to restock timber plantations near Tumut, Bombala, Bathurst and Walcha.

“Over the last 20 years, Forestry Corporation’s Blowering nursery has seen over 140 million seedlings pass through our gates to help build people’s homes and workplaces,” Mr Green said.

“We have 16 staff on board to help with the grading and dispatch program which runs for five months.

“At the height of the dispatch program, it is not uncommon to send upwards of 800,000 seedlings out of the nursery gate in a week.

Mr Green said preparations for the massive seedling dispatch began in October last year, when the team at the nursery planted more than 340 kilograms of seed into individual cells.

“These seedlings are going to become future generations’ homes and furniture, so we go to great lengths to ensure we produce high quality, robust seedlings that will produce strong and straight timber when they are ready for harvest in 30 years,” Mr Green said.

“We use different seeds for seedlings destined to be planted in different parts of the estate so that the seedlings have the best chance of thriving in their environment and growing into high-quality timber.

“Over the past eight months, we have carefully fertilised, watered and nurtured our seedlings, regularly measuring the stem diameter, height and nutrient status of seedlings in sample plots throughout the nursery and we are now assessing each individual seedling to ensure it meets our high standards.

“Forestry Corporation replants the equivalent of almost 300 times the area of Sydney’s CBD to pine plantations each year and around 85 per cent of the seedlings replanted state-wide are grown here at Blowering, so it’s a role we take very seriously,” Mr Green concludes.

For more information about Forestry Corporation of NSW, visit www.forestrycorporation.com.au

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Gough family to sell Caterpillar dealership after nearly a century – The wealthy Gough family has sold Gough Group for $211 million to a Malaysian company after a 90-year history in New Zealand owning the Caterpillar heavy machinery dealership.

The Gough family fortune is collectively valued at nearly $400m but members have been split in recent years and been embroiled in a High Court battle for control over the family trusts that controlled the company.

Family members include property developers and investors Antony and Tracy who are brothers, and their nephew and son respectively, Jamie, who is a Christchurch City councillor.

Gough Group employs about 950 people across its network in more than 50 locations in Australia and New Zealand. Over the past year Gough Group grew its revenue by more than 18 per cent $540m from higher sales sales for its Caterpillar and transport and materials handling businesses.

The buyer is Sime Darby Berhad, one of the largest Caterpillar dealers globally. It purchased Continental Car Services in 1999. In New Zealand, Sime Darby Motors operates under the Continental Cars and City Nissan dealerships in Auckland representing brands such as BMW, Porsche, Volkswagen, Audi, Ferrari and Nissan. It also has a commercial transport arm representing brands such as Volvo, Hino, Mack and UD Trucks.

The conditional agreement depends on Overseas Investment Office approval but is expected to be completed by the end of September, Sime Darby said.

With an international workforce of more than 20,000 employees, they are headquartered in Malaysia with operations in 18 countries and territories across the Asia Pacific region. Sime Darby Berhad is listed on the main market of Bursa Malaysia Securities Berhad.

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Rayonier Inc. reported 2Q 2019 net income of $18.8 million, or $0.14 per share, on revenues of $184.8 million. This compares to net income of $36.3 million, or $0.28 per share, on revenues of $245.9 million in the prior year quarter.

2Q operating income was $31.4 million versus $51.6 million in the prior year period. 2Q Adjusted EBITDA was $60.6 million versus $111.3 million in the prior year period.

Rayonier is a leading timberland real estate investment trust with assets located in some of the most productive softwood timber growing regions in the United States and New Zealand.

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Log Max has signed an agreement with it’s current Brazilian dealer Timber Forest to become the exclusive Log Max distributor for all of Brazil. – Timber Forest has grown to become one of Log Max best-selling distributers worldwide. They share the Log Max ground values of excellent customer support and product knowledge, says Greg Porter at Log Max. Our common goals make this a great choice for Log Max distribution.

Timber Forest is the forest division of Rodoparaná and has been a Log Max distributer for more than 9 years. With an excellent staff focused on forestry and dedicated to hard work Timber Forest and the Rodoparaná group has over the years grown and expanded the forestry markets in Southern Brazil. Their knowledge of forestry products is important to their customers and Log Max. We believe they will have continued success being the exclusive Log Max distributor for all of Brazil.

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Timber Forest, part of Rodoparaná Group, appointed Rafael Macedo as marketing coordinator. The Timber Forest is the dealer for the Ponsse and Sany machines in the southern region of Brazil. Rafael Macedo has MBA in marketing and 16 years of experience in forestry sector. Previously he was the editor of Referência Florestal Magazine, the main forestry magazine in Brazil.

“It’s a great opportunity and honor to be able to contribute to Timber’s continued growth. My role will be to serve as support for the sales team, to maintain and increase customer relationships, which Timber already does a very good job, through communication and strategics programs we will develop together”, said Macedo.

“We are growing a lot in recent years, and we realize it was time to establish a model of communication to strengthen our relationship with our clients and the market, that is the reason to hire Rafael, who has experience in the field and can also contribute with new marketing actions. We all are very excited about the novelty and ready to work”, says Claumar Baldissera, Sales and Marketing manager. In addition to the forestry machines of the Finnish brand Ponsse and the construction and mining equipment of the Chinese company Sany, Timber also represents in the south of Brazil the implements of Satco, manufacturer from New Zealand.

Timber was responsible for the beginning of the popularization of forest mechanization in Brazil, more than 15 years ago. Based in the three southern states (Paraná, Santa Catarina and Rio Grande do Sul), the company, which represents world-renowned brands, also customizes forestry machines, provides its own fleet monitoring called Timber Fleet, and provides maintenance service. “We work tirelessly to deliver solutions to our customers, when they have a problem, it becomes ours too”, says Jober Fonseca, Director of Timber.

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According to a new report released by the UK Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS), renewable sources of energy fuelled a record 33% of the UK’s electricity generation in 2018, which was up 3.8% from the previous year. Sources: Timberbiz, Forest2Market Total renewable generation capacity grew 10% to 44.3 GW. According to official data published in the Digest of UK Energy Statistics 2019 (DUKES), primary energy production in the UK increased 2.9% year-over-year (YoY) in 2018. The rise was driven by growth in output from primary oil, wind, solar and biomass. Overall fossil fuel growth increased, but with coal output falling to a record low level. Final energy consumption rose by 1.1%, as demand for heating increased during the ‘Beast from the East’ weather storm in February and March. On a temperature adjusted basis, final energy consumption rose by 0.2%. The BEIS estimates that 2018 emissions of carbon dioxide fell by 9.1 million metric tons to 364.1 million metric tons, a decrease of 2.4%. The reduction is attributed to changes in the fuel mix used for electricity generation. Other statistics on UK electricity consumption and generation from the report include: Due to a decrease in demand, there was a 0.3% drop in the total supply of electricity in the UK in 2018 to 352 TWh. Final consumption of electricity was stable at 300 TWh, its lowest level since 1995. Coal-fired electricity generation continued to decline, falling below a quarter of its 2015 level. Its share fell from 22% in 2015 to 5.1% in 2018 as the carbon price increase in April 2015 made coal generation more expensive. Gas-fueled electricity inched down from 40.4% in 2017 to a 39.5% share of generation in 2018. Nuclear energy’s share fell to 19.5% due to maintenance and outages. Electricity generated from all renewable sources in the UK in 2018 increased by 11% to a record 110 TWh.Generation from onshore and offshore wind increased by 5.2% and 28%, respectively, and generation from solar rose by 12%. Hydro generation dropped 7.0%. In 2018, the UK derived 19% of its primary energy from low-carbon sources, with 39% coming from nuclear power. The second largest component of low-carbon was bioenergy, accounting for 37% of total low-carbon energy sources. Energy supply from biofuels increased by 11% with additional use of anaerobic digestion, wood pellets and energy from waste. Generation from plant biomass increased by 15%, partly due to new plants being converted from coal to biomass at Lynemouth and Drax.

Papua New Guinea has launched version 2.0 of the National Forest Stewardship Standard. This version of the standard has been developed by a chamber-balanced technical committee, consisting of 12 national experts, and by using a multi-stakeholder process, including two rounds of public consultation and a 2-day national stakeholder consultation workshop. Source: Timberbiz FSC’s Standard Development Group (SDG) was pleased with the constructive input received from the PNG Forest Authority, Climate Change & Development Authority and the Forest Industry Association. Two field tests and two desk audits were conducted, at both large and small-scale operations, and including plantations and natural forests. The revision process started in March 2015 and took two and a half years to complete. PNG FC Inc expects that the revised standard will lead to increased interest in the use of FSC certification in the country to promote responsible forest management, including for ecosystem services. The FSC NFSS for PNG Version 2.0 applies to all forest types and will become effective on the 1 September 2019.

Newron Motors plans to produce a high-end and high-performance wooden electric motorcycle that looks very ‘space age’ with a cylindrical battery at its heart. It is not the first e-bike but it is certainly one of the most aggressive designs and perhaps the only one made of wood. Source: Timberbiz Sébastien Mahut, a motorcycle enthusiast, dreamt of designing an all-electric motorcycle propelled by clean and silent energy. Using an Aprilia Futura as a base, he designed his first prototype. After a year of work, he had a machine capable of accelerating up to 110 km/h and enjoying a range of about 60 km. This is not the motorcycle that has now been shown to the public this was merely his first attempt. Mr Mahut finished his studies at Polytech Paris Sud in France and in 2009 began work at Sagem Défense Sécurité, as an electronic engineer. In 2014, he met Michel Sérafin and the two engineers began to develop a technical prototype, then a second one. The duo left their jobs and this became a full-time project and Newron Motors was officially founded at the end of 2016. In 2017, they joined the Station F start-up campus, where they met the design teams of Dassault Systèmes. With them, they set goals and workshops that allowed them to guide the product design. In a second step, within the mobility division of Dassault, they were advised by a team of engineers on the development of the technical parts of the bike. Now Newron Motors aims to launch a limited edition of 12 road-certified models in 2020 before moving to larger scale commercialization in 2021. However, the vehicle specifications have not been released. The name Newron is the contraction of Newton, which serves to establish a value of torque and neuron, which refers to artificial intelligence.